If you do not show up for a scheduled court appearance for a
criminal case in Municipal Court, you should expect a warrant to be issued for your
arrest. This arrest warrant is called a CAPIAS and usually has a bond amount
stated with it. Once you are arrested, the bond must be posted to secure your release from
jail. In order to avoid the issuance of a CAPIAS, please see WHAT TO DO IF YOU CANNOT MAKE
A COURT APPEARANCE.A CAPIAS also can be expected if you don't pay the
fine and don't show up on the date ordered by the court, seeStay
to Pay.

You should know that once a CAPIAS is issued, the Clerk of Courts
notifies the BMV of the CAPIAS issuance. The BMV in turn blocks the person's driver's
license and vehicle registration issuance or renewal, and assesses the person a $15 fee.

If you missed a court appearance or failed to pay a fine
for a criminal case and think a CAPIAS may have been issued for your arrest, you should
immediately call your attorney, if you have one, or take immediate steps to obtain an
attorney, see HOW TO FIND A LAWYER.

With or without a lawyer, you may qualify for a new program
called the Failure To Appear or FTA program. If you have not previously participated in
the program, and agree to cooperate, the CAPIAS issued against you will be recalled and
you will be allowed to appear in court without posting a bond. Call (513) 946-6153 to see
if you qualify for the program.

In any case, you may call the Clerk of Court's office at (513)
946-6010 (this is a 24 hour number) to determine whether a CAPIAS has been issued and the
amount of any bond. Please also see HOW TO FIND WHEN & WHERE A CASE WILL BE HEARD
for how to get additional information on your case. The clerk's office should be able to
give you instructions on how to post bond or otherwise respond to the CAPIAS.If
the CAPIAS was issued for your failure to pay a fine, the clerk's office can tell you how
to pay the fine, seeStay
to Pay.

Civil Cases:

In civil cases, such as evictions and suits for
money, your failure to appear for a scheduled appearance can result in the case being
dismissed if you filed the complaint, or a default judgment being rendered against you, if
the suit was brought against you.